Persona developer Atlus splits with Western publisher NIS America

Atlus’ acquisition by Sega has led the Persona, Etrian Odyssey and Trauma Center studio to cut ties with its former European and US publishing partner.

NIS America has helped the Japanese dev to bring games including Persona Q, Etrian Odyssey Untold 2: The Fafnir Knight and the highly popular Vita release of Persona 4 Golden to the West.

However, NIS America president and CEO Takuro Yamashita told Develop sister publication MCV that Sega’s buyout of the firm, which finalised at the start of this month, made it “too difficult” to continue the collaboration.

"Around ten days ago, we terminated our alliance with Atlus in Europe and the US," Yamashita revealed.

"Atlus became very picky about selecting the European publishing partner after it was bought by Sega. It always cherry-picked its EU publishing partner based on who offered the highest minimum guarantee on a title-by-title basis. I noticed that it was very difficult for NIS America to establish an equal-partnership with Atlus.”

What this means for Atlus’ next big Western release, Persona 5, remains unclear. The title was originally planned for release in Japan and North America in 2015, before being delayed to this year.